Walkley yard winter of 2008

during what I believe was the last three months of 2008 I did a Co-op Placement  at what was then headquarters of the Ottawa Central railway. as well as being the location of their locomotive shops, where they serviced their fleet of chop nosed ex CP RS18's. I was given the job of assisting the two mechanics in servicing the locomotives in the shop, I had no idea the experience this Co-op placement would have on me. while I was working there,  I would learn how to change brake shoes, learn how diesel locomotives actually work, and even learn what a "vice grip" was! as the weeks wore on. news that CN had  purchased the Quebec Railway corporations railway and ferry operations, this including the OCR and was currently dissolving it into their own management. this also slowed down work in the shop, as CN was slowly replacing the shortlines ALCO's with its own locomotives. as there was no work in the shop, I was sent out to help the Track Crew clean the switches of snow and ice, gotta tell ya nothing warms you up like cleaning out some switches! during the transition between OCR's ALCO's and CNs locomotives I documented the changes. the following are pictures I took of the transition: the first are pictures from around the shop and in the shop.

the next series of pictures show CN switching cars to be taken on the Alexandria Sub

before going onto the Alexandria sub however they had to first take two ex OCR ALCO's but later had to change it to one because of a policy that CN had of pulling "dead" locomotives. I also took pictures of the OCR's fleet awaiting there fate. the last picture is of a rail break that occured while switching, probally due to the weight of the CN locomotives to that of the ALCO's!

and to think that after Christmas break I would come back only to find out the CN had kicked me off there property most likley due to the liability of having a young inexperienced high school student on their property. so as one last farewell, me and the other two machanics took me out to Local Hero's for lunch and then dropped me off in front of my high school. I can safely say that was the best place I ever worked at!